No.

9, November 2004
DDA OCCASIONAL PAPERS
United Nations

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DDA OCCASIONAL PAPERS
No. 9 November 2004

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United Nations
Department for Disarmament Affairs
 DDA Occasional Papers is a series of ad hoc publi-
cations presenting, in edited form, some of the papers or state-
ments made at international meetings, symposia, seminars or
workshops organized by the Department for Disarmament
Affairs or its regional centres in Lima, Lomé or Kathmandu.
They deal with topical issues in the field of arms limitation,
disarmament and international security and are intended pri-
marily for those concerned with these matters in government
and in the academic community.
The views expressed in DDA Occasional Papers are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the
United Nations Secretariat, or those of their government or of
the institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated.
Material appearing in DDA Occasional Papers may
be reprinted without permission, provided the credit line reads
“Reprinted from DDA Occasional Papers” and specifies the
number of the occasional paper concerned. A tearsheet should
be sent to the following address:
Department for Disarmament Affairs
MDI Branch, Room S-3151
United Nations
New York, N.Y. 10017
United States
This publication also appears on the DDA web site at
http://disarmament.un.org/ddapublcations/op9.htm
Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

World Peace and Economic Prosperity

Lawrence R. Klein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Confidence-building measures as a tool for

disarmament development
Sarah Meek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Commission on disarmament and development

Richard Jolly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

iii
iv
 PREFACE

One of the central challenges in examining the rela-

tionship between disarmament and development could be
summarized in the words of the Johannesburg Declaration on
Sustainable Development which stated: “The deep fault line
that divides human society between the rich and the poor and
the ever-increasing gap between the developed and develop-
ing worlds pose a major threat to global prosperity, security
and stability.”1
The United Nations is reviewing the relationship
between disarmament and development after a lapse of more
than twenty years. The last review was conducted from 1978-
1981 against the backdrop of the First Special Session of the
General Assembly on Disarmament (SSOD I).
During the cold war era, particularly since 1981, we
witnessed a number of significant developments. Notably, in
1987, the International Conference on the Relationship
between Disarmament and Development adopted a Final
Document which became the basis of subsequent annual
General Assembly resolutions on the subject (A/Conf.130/30),
available at disarmament.un.org, under “Disarmament and
Development”.
In the 1990s, a new development agenda, shaped by a
series of global conferences on economic, social and environ-
mental issues emerged. The international community also
witnessed an increase in armed conflict following the end of
the cold war, particularly civil conflict and instability fueled
by armed violence. Together with the proliferation of small
arms and light weapons, these conflicts and instabilities
undermined economic progress and seriously hampered
development prospects in various parts of the world.
A Group of Governmental Experts has been examin-

v
ing the relationship between disarmament and development in
the existing international context, shaped as it is by new chal-
lenges to security.
The Group completed its task in May 2004 at its third
and final series of meetings in New York. Its first set of meet-
ings was held in Geneva in November 2003. The mandate for
this important exercise emanated from General Assembly res-
olution 57/65 of November 2002. The Group presented its
report to the 59th session of the General Assembly (A/59/119).
In order to contribute to the work of the Group of
Governmental Experts, the Department for Disarmament
Affairs organized a symposium in March 2004. The papers
that follow were based on the presentations made at the sym-
posium by three experts in the field. They provided useful
input to the Group’s work. The Department for Disarmament
Affairs is pleased to present these papers as Occasional
Paper No. 9.

Hannelore Hoppe
Director and Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General
for Disarmament Affairs

Notes
1 A/CONF.199/20, annex, p.2.

***

vi
vii
WORLD PEACE AND
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Lawrence R. Klein*

Abstract
Klein sees a need to work for world peace in order to promote
economic prosperity, not only for individual countries, but for the
world as a whole. In his view, an economy trying to have “guns
and butter” can have a short economic growth spurt. Strong mili-
tary spending, he maintains, can have an adverse effect on civilian
economic activities that compete with the military establishment
for resources. By analyzing events since the end of the cold war, he
notes that repressively large military outlays led to the Soviet
Union's demise, wiping out its "butter" while reduced defense
spending and appropriate fiscal and monetary policies enabled the
US economy to enjoy an outstanding peace dividend indicative of
"guns or butter". Klein believes that a socio-economic policy that
aims to achieve poverty reduction and more equal distribution of
income within and among nations is the best path to building a
sound working relationship between developing countries and
more advanced partners.

The two conditions — peace and prosperity — truly

fit together like "hand-in-glove", "peas-in-a-pod", "bread and
butter" and a number of other pairs or complements. Yet,
many analysts from the economics profession to other learned

* Professor Klein, who is associated with the Economists

Allied for Arms Reduction, is a Nobel Laureate in Economics. This
paper was originally presented at the International Conference on
"A New Vision and Strategy under Changing Leadership in
Northeast Asia", Seoul, 27-28 February 2004.

1
 Lawrence Klein

fields, even the often cited "man-in-the-street," do not always

understand how the two concepts are mutually compatible
and jointly reinforcing. Today, for instance, Africa is one of
the regions where this need is most evident. While Member
States have noted various reports of the Secretary-General
concerning the need to examine the root causes of conflicts, I
wish to highlight that a critical factor promoting the intensifi-
cation of a conflict is the excessive availability of weapons.
In many introductory eco-
nomics textbooks, the concept of Strong military
"guns or butter" is discussed. I spending can have
believe this is quite an appropriate an adverse effect on
pairing. However, in a recent editori- civilian activities...
al from the influential New York
Times, the writer tried to develop the
theme of "guns and butter", which I believe is quite mislead-
ing, especially in analytical terms not mentioned in the arti-
cle.1
On the basis of a very shortsighted view, one can look
at a time span that is so isolated and brief and arrive at terri-
bly misleading conclusions. Ironically, the editorial was
released at about the time the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003 was
awarded. On the basis of one-calendar quarter of high report-
ed growth for the United States economy (July - September
2003) in which several very short-run stimuli were adminis-
tered to its economy, there was unusually high growth in real
GDP at more than 8 per cent for that quarter, co-terminus with
the prolonged dragged-out war in Iraq. It is unfortunate that
the author did not prudently wait until the very weak labor
market report was published. That report not only covered
disappointing employment statistics for October, November
and December, but also took note of the deaths of United
States and other national service personnel, together with
many civilians, in the late fall-early winter of 2003-2004.

2
 Lawrence Klein

Nor did the editorial give due consideration to the build-up of

very serious twin deficits on both external trade and internal
budgetary accounts, which posed some very awkward future
adjustments for the United States economy.
Yes, an economy can have some very short-run
improvements in overall activity levels, say in real GDP and
possibly in labor market conditions in times of heavy military
outlays for carrying on current or future war activities. But in
the longer run, strong military spending can have an adverse
effect on civilian activities that compete with the military
establishment for scarce resources. When attacked by an
external adversary, it may be necessary to resort to military
retaliation and bear the costs of war; however, that is not an
acceptable explanation of "guns and butter".2
There are many historical examples of the adverse
effects of war on both the winning and losing sides, but per-
mit me to analyze the course of events since the end of the
cold war to convey some appreciation of the concept of world
peace and economic prosperity – the title of this presentation.
I shall argue that we need to work for world peace in order to
promote economic prosperity, not only for individual coun-
tries, but for the world, as a whole.
World military spending at the close of the cold war,
with dominant military spending by both the Soviet Union
and the United States accounting for approximately two-
thirds, was estimated at approximately 1.0 trillion United
States dollars. Repressively, large military outlays by the two
adversaries contributed significantly to the Soviet Union’s
demise, wiping out its "butter". While the build-up of such a
large deficit in the United States budgetary accounts prevent-
ed the use of fiscal policy to bring about full employment
after the Gulf War in early 1991. Monetary policy, alone,
without an appropriate fiscal policy, was then incapable of
generating a high employment economy, in which the total

3
 Lawrence Klein

population could enjoy "butter". Another reason why mone-

tary policy, practiced in the conventional way, could not
restore full employment at that time was due to the advent of
information technology methods in banking and finance, thus
paralyzing the traditional methods of simply lowering opera-
tive (i.e., 24 hour) interest rates. There are often confusing
new factors that bewilder policy mak-
ers. M2 hardly budged at that time.3 The keys to a
Yet, there was a way to move successful United
the United States economy to a higher States policy lay
level and sustained path of expansion in in the repetitive
the quest for "butter," namely, to reduce reductions in
military spending
defense spending for a few years run-
and the size of
ning in order to use monetary and fiscal
the armed forces,
policies in a felicitous combination. together with a
Defense spending was not the only fis- very tight lid on
cal instrument that could have been non-defense
used, but the end of the cold war per- operating.
mitted the reduction of defense spend-
ing, while holding the line on non-
defense spending in 1993 by the new Administration was just
the combination that the bond market wanted. Long-term
interest rates fell and reached levels that stimulated capital
formation and finally got the economy on a sustained expan-
sion path. Both the reduction in defense spending over a few
successive years and the lid on non-military spending were
just the right tonic for the United States economy. Not only
did conventional capital formation move ahead, but venture
capital for the new technologies was forthcoming. The
United States economy ultimately enjoyed the combination of
unprecedented expansion of employment (down to less than
four per cent), high productivity gains, low inflation and all
the "butter" the civilians could absorb. Not only did the
deficit fall under this peaceful episode, but the outstanding
public debt fell to such a low that large budgetary surpluses

4
 Lawrence Klein

appeared at the local, state, and federal levels of government.

That was an outstanding peace dividend, indicative of "guns
or butter" and not related to "guns and butter". To be effec-
tive, it required a roundabout route, but in a highly intercon-
nected economy like that of the United States it worked out
ultimately as the peace dividend. Other countries could have
achieved similar successes, but they did not follow the United
States along a path of significant reduction in defense spend-
ing.
The Administration enjoyed very high popularity
after the Gulf War in early 1991, but could not bring the econ-
omy out of the recession, which began before Iraq's invasion
of Kuwait. Try as they could, the monetary authorities could
not bring the economy to a good recovery that would lower
the unemployment rate. That began to happen only after 1993.
The new technological innovations in banking and finance
were at work, and the Federal Reserve could not make a last-
ing impression on the bond market to bring down long-term
interest rates. That happened when fiscal policy was designed
to complement monetary policy and finally get M2 to expand
significantly. The keys to a successful United States policy
lay in the repetitive reductions in military spending and the
size of the armed forces, together with a very tight lid on non-
defense operating. Accommodation by the Federal Reserve,
provision of venture capital to information technology and
other areas of investment carried the economy through with
high growth, very low unemployment, strong government
receipts that not only lowered the fiscal deficit but even
brought down the outstanding debt. All levels of government
(federal, state, local) prospered in this era of a true peace div-
idend. In the 1990s, the United States became the principal
locomotive of the world economy. This became a leading
event, perhaps the main economic event of the 20th century
— to turn a deeply indebted country into a growing, balanced,

5
 Lawrence Klein

Background Statistics
Peace Dividend, USA
Real Real T-bill 30 yr M2 Military Real
Defense Non 3 mos % % Thous. Cap
$bn Defense % form
$bn $bn

1990 443 163 7.5 8.6 3.8 2044 907

1991 438 166 5.4 8.1 3.0 1986 830
1992 417 178 3.4 7.7 1.6 1807 900
1993 395 177 3.0 6.6 1.5 1705 978
1994 376 176 4.3 7.4 0.4 16101107
1995 362 175 5.5 6.9 4.1 15181141
1996 358 175 5.0 6.7 4.8 14721243
1997 348 182 5.1 6.6 5.7 14391393
1998 342 184 4.8 5.6 8.8 1410* 1558
1999 349 189 4.7 5.9 6.2 1440* 1661

*Estimate

debt-free system without significant inflation. Peace can be a

powerful stimulant for economic prosperity.
It should be noted, however, that Barbara Crossette,
writing in the same New York Times' Week in Review section
a decade ago, explained the existence of a similar peace divi-
dend among middle class families of India who enjoyed
peaceful tourism for their dividend. She noted that in prior
times such a family excursion would have been unthinkable
but became commonplace in the improved atmosphere that
followed the termination of the cold war.

6
 Lawrence Klein

If only Iraq, Libya, the Democratic People’s Republic

of Korea and a few other countries with discretionary funds
from their fortunately-based own resources could have divert-
ed their efforts towards improving the lot of their own citi-
zens, they, too, could have been among leading developing
countries who achieved higher status — either in the Human
Development Rankings (HDI) of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) or in the visible life-styles
of their citizens.
The fact that HDI calculations cover
Peace can be
some quantitative indicators beyond straight- a powerful
forward GDP measurement is worth a pause, stimulant for
to consider what constitutes quality of life. economic
Beyond GDP measurement, there is popula- prosperity.
tion size, longevity, literacy and, in more
recent calculations, such attributes as infant
mortality, sanitation, clean water, physicians, nurses, schools
and many more characteristics of a good life. These features
can become more plentiful in a peaceful environment, as they
are the essence of development made possible by peace.

What socioeconomic features are conducive to a more

peaceful environment?
A natural thought is that attention to the distribution
of income and wealth, in addition to striving for more GDP, or
even GDP per capita, in the developing world would con-
tribute to the implementation of counter-terrorism targets that
one would like to see achieved. In a direct way, the poverty-
reduction programmes of some international organizations
have that very purpose, and it would be expected that a safer,
saner world would be the outcome. Arguments have been
raised however, that the anti-terrorism objectives that are
being sought will not be attained as a result of the achieve-

7
 Lawrence Klein

ment of forward steps in poverty reduction or in the more

equal distribution of income within and among nations.
The argument is made that achievements in income
and wealth distribution are ineffective in reducing terrorism
because many of the prominent terrorists are well-educated
and come from middle and upper class segments of their soci-
eties. This argument, however, ignores the fact that for carry-
ing out missions, international terrorism preys upon people
who are not products of societies where there is abundance of,
or even minimal opportunities for, education, comfortable liv-
ing, interesting occupational choices and many other attrib-
utes of a well-ordered society. It is hard to believe that will-
ing supplies of suicidal terrorists or victims of ethnic cleans-
ing make up stable social orders where there is abundant hope
for a life of future stability and achievement.
An alternative approach is to make the physical
aspects of life attainable at a rising standard in a dynamic
social setting, i.e., an environment that permits and encour-
ages advancement, with stable and familiar cultural values.
A policy that aims to achieve such goals as those stat-
ed above will not lead to fulfillment in all cases in a short time
span, measured in years. Yet it is the best path to build sound
working relationships between developing countries and more
advanced partners. In spite of inevitable confrontations
between developing and developed nations in the process of
implementation of programmes for betterment, there can be
no turning back. Now that the cold war is no longer flourish-
ing, the developed nations, must work together to meet the
needs and aspirations of their own societies and those of the
developing nations.
Some observations on war and peace
War cannot simply be abolished, but nations can be
taught that war should be only a last resort in confrontational
situations among nations. There is now great doubt that war

8
 Lawrence Klein

was an appropriate response to insurgency and dispute in

Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson's refusal to finance the
war according to advice from his economic counselors and his
attempt to realize both "guns and butter" for the United States
attributed to the country’s many subsequent economic prob-
lems in the 1970s.
Economists are fond of making cost-benefit analyses
of potential events. This was done in many places and ver-
sions in the early days of 2003, before the invasion of Iraq.
One that is worth considering when
we are discussing peace and prosper-
ity in the future is that as long as It is hard to believe
United Nations inspectors were on that willing supplies
the scene in Iraq there was no evi- of suicidal terrorists
or victims of ethnic
dence of the presence or attempt to
cleansing make up
manufacture weapons of mass stable social orders
destruction. In fact, there was no ten- where there is abun-
dency for breaches of the peace in dant hope for a life
that situation. The cost of maintain- of future stability and
ing such inspections was far smaller achievement.
than the cost of the war — measured
not only by the official budgetary
outlays, but the far greater cost in civilian and military lives,
destruction of infrastructure, and generation of ill will. In this
line of reasoning, it was clearly evident that the benefits far
outweighed the costs and that war as the last resort was not
justified, certainly not in 2003-2004.
This consideration raises the issue of the role of the
United Nations in the very manner that the organization was
conceived. It should be given a fairer chance to develop its
main peacekeeping powers and use them in future conflicts
that are on the verge of war.
Many countries have given too little credit to the
United Nations peacekeeping operations and other worldwide

9
 Lawrence Klein

activities. It is interesting to follow the comments of David

Kay, the chief United States weapons inspector of the Iraq
Survey Group, on the occasion of his resignation in January
2004. It is not the conclusion he drew on the presence (or non
presence) of weapons of mass destruction, but his remarks
that Iraq feared the perceptive work of the United Nations
inspection team and got rid of such weapons or attempts to
manufacture them because the UN team was, in fact, careful
and very observant. They were doing their job and holding
Iraq at bay, without firing a shot. It is surely a plus for the
work of the United Nations on the side of peace.

Notes
1 Ferguson, Niall. "Bush Can Have Both Guns and Butter,
at Least for Now," New York Times Week in Review, section 4:1
(December 7, 2003).
2 This short-run gain can be appropriately labeled "mili-
tary Keynesianism".
3 A measure of the stock of money in an economy that
includes savings deposits and other relatively liquid assets such as
small certificates of deposit and money market mutual funds.

***

10
CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES:
A TOOL FOR DISARMAMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT

Sarah Meek*

Abstract
“Effective disarmament” is an important condition for achieving
sustainable development and disarmament-related CBMs can play
an important role in post-conflict situations. Meek focuses on how
CBMs relate to conventional arms and military expenditure and
how they can encourage disarmament and bring about develop-
ment in ways that include communication, regional approaches
and transparency - particularly the UN Register of Conventional
Arms and the UN system for the standardized reporting of military
expenditures. She also considers the role of practical disarmament
programmes that encompass weapons for development, disarma-
ment demobilization and reintegration and subregional coopera-
tion.

Confidence-building measures have become increas-

ingly useful in addressing many of today's disarmament chal-
lenges, including efforts to control the use of small arms and
light weapons.
The aim of disarmament is to promote international
peace and security, while the need for security is one of the
* Sarah Meek is head of the Arms Management
Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, a regional policy
studies organization in South Africa. This paper is based on her
presentation to the Group of Governmental Experts on
Disarmament and Development at the United Nations, 9 March
2004.

11
 Sarah Meek

foundations for development. Disarmament and development

are therefore mutually reinforcing concepts and security plays
a crucial role in that relationship, as noted in the 1987 report
of the International Conference on the Relationship between
Disarmament and Development.1 Progress in these areas,
including improving the security situ-
Disarmament and
ation, can be achieved in various
development are
mutually reinforcing
ways, as "progress in any of these
concepts and security three areas would have a positive
plays a crucial role in effect on the others."2 This is espe-
that relationship... cially true for those countries emerg-
ing from conflict, where providing
security by disarming fighting factions becomes a precondi-
tion for development. In that connection, the 2003 Human
Development Report has identified violent conflict as a key
obstacle to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.3

Confidence-building measures
In the context of disarmament, development and
security, confidence-building measures (CBMs) have become
important steps in building the trust, stability and security
needed to reduce violent conflict and enhance efforts at devel-
opment.
In general, adversarial states can use CBMs as tools
to reduce tensions and avert possible military conflict. These
tools may include communication, constraints, transparency,
and verification measures. Traditionally, CBMs have either
preceded the negotiation of formal arms control agreements or
have been added to strengthen them. Lately, they have
evolved and can now be found outside the framework of
treaties. At the international level, for example, two important
confidence-building measures exist: the United Nations sys-
tem for the standardized reporting of military expenditures
and the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms.

12
 Sarah Meek

In other contexts, the definition of CBMs has been

expanded, or redefined, to meet a changing security environ-
ment. More and more, they are being used in practical appli-
cations to address the same challenges of yesteryear, only in
very different environments. Recently, they have been applied
in post-conflict peacebuilding situations, in efforts to reduce
armed violence and in finding means to address instability and
insecurity. Often, CBMs have addressed the proliferation and
misuse of small arms and light weapons — a group of
weapons which poses one of the biggest arms-related chal-
lenges to peace and security for many countries — especially
in Africa. Thus, CBMS can be effective in efforts to reduce
small arms and light weapons in disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration efforts (DDR), weapons collection pro-
grammes, and in post-conflict peace building situations.
A range of disarmament-related CBMs also remains
important in reinforcing norms against the spread of weapons
and reducing tensions between states. Although at one level it
is important to look at the range of CBMs that are actively
used, this presentation focuses on how they relate to conven-
tional arms and military expenditure. Within that range, I will
discuss how they can encourage disarmament and bring about
development.

Why are CBMS important to disarmament and develop-

ment?
In the 1991 resolution "Transparency in Armaments"4
the General Assembly reiterated its conviction that arms
transfers in all its aspects deserved serious consideration, inter
alia, because of: (a) their potential effects in further destabi-
lizing areas where tension and regional conflict threaten inter-
national peace and security as well as national security; (b)
their potentially negative effects on the progress of the peace-
ful and social development of all peoples; and (c) the danger

13
 Sarah Meek

of increasing illicit and covert arms trafficking. This convic-

tion led to the establishment of the United Nations Register of
Conventional Arms and was reiterated in the United Nations
Millennium Declaration,5 which identified peace, security
and disarmament as one of its key objectives.
The effective use of CBMs
Finding ways to achieve
can be an important component in effective disarmament
making disarmament and, by becomes an important
extension development, sustain- condition for achieving
able. A growing body of research sustainable development.
is illustrating how ineffective dis-
armament contributes to insecurity
and impedes development. A report published by the World
Bank in 2000 found that there was a great likelihood of con-
flict returning to areas that had recently suffered conflict.
Linkages have also been made between those countries or
regions that had been inadequately disarmed and where armed
conflict or violence had resumed. Thus, finding ways to
achieve effective disarmament becomes an important condi-
tion for achieving sustainable development — and CBMs
have played and can continue to play an important role in this
regard.
Ways in which CBMs can assist in promoting disar-
mament and development include:
Communication
In his report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict,6
the United Nations Secretary-General noted how transparen-
cy arrangements, in the context of disarmament, served to
reduce the risk of misunderstandings that led to conflict. Such
experiences can often be found during DDR programmes.
For example, in Sierra Leone, a process of "simultaneous dis-
armament" was instituted to build the confidence of the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Civil Defense
Force (CDF) in the disarmament process. Simultaneous dis-

14
 Sarah Meek

armament involved negotiating with the two parties to identi-

fy disarmament sites, to draw up disarmament schedules, and,
most importantly, to ensure that the disarmament of RUF and
CDF combatants in proximate areas took place simultaneous-
ly or as close in time as possible.
Regional approaches
Another approach is to recognize the impact that
CBMs can have at the regional or subregional level. For
instance, a confidence-building measure that functions on a
subregional level is the 1998 Moratorium on the importation,
exportation and manufacture of light weapons, adopted by the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Moratorium, which grew from an early effort by the
United Nations to assist countries in West Africa to combat
illicit trafficking in arms, recognized the destabilizing effect
the unregulated spread of weapons was having on countries in
the subregion. A Code of Conduct for the Implementation of
the Moratorium was adopted in December 1999. This Code
includes provision for the exchange of information on the pro-
curement of weapons covered by the Moratorium, in an effort
to increase transparency.7 While the implementation of the
Moratorium has been affected by
Transparency may be
ongoing conflict in the subregion, the
one of the best-known
spirit of building confidence among confidence-building
countries in the region remains. measures.
Transparency
Transparency may be one of the best-known confi-
dence-building measures. Both the United Nations system for
the standardized reporting of military expenditures and the
United Nations Register of Conventional Arms were devel-
oped in recognition of the need to give these opaque areas
greater visibility. The importance of both instruments is in
large part due to the fact that the information is provided by

15
 Sarah Meek

governments and is accessible to other states via the United

Nations. As the information is part of a public record, it may
be used to confirm or indicate trends in military expenditures,
in sales, or point out anomalies that can be independently pur-
sued for further analysis.
The United Nations system for the standardized
reporting of military expenditures was established through
General Assembly resolution 35/142 B in 1980. The stan-
dardized reporting form invites aggregate and detailed data on
expenditures incurred on personnel, operations and mainte-
nance, procurement and construction, and research and devel-
opment. An alternative simplified reporting form seeks aggre-
gate data on personnel, operations and procurement.
Reporting is based on available data for the latest fiscal year.
Participation by states has grown in recent years. In
2002, 82 national submissions were recorded, while a total of
110 states reported at least once. This is a significant rise
from the 1980s and 1990s, when an average of 30 reports
were received each year.
The Register of Conventional Arms was established in
1991. States are encouraged to provide data annually on
imports and exports of conventional arms in seven categories
covered by the Register and to provide available background
information regarding their military holdings, procurement
through national production and relevant policies. On aver-
age, more than 90 countries report annually, capturing the
bulk of the global arms trade in the category of weapons cov-
ered by the Register, as almost all significant weapons suppli-
ers and their recipients submit reports regularly. The recent
decision by the General Assembly broadens the scope of
information provided in the Register by expanding the thresh-
old for mortars, including man-portable air defense systems
and encouraging voluntary reporting on small arms transfers.8
The decision will be an important element for strengthening

16
 Sarah Meek

this transparency mechanism as it tackles respectively, issues

that affect conflict in developing regions and terrorists’
threats.
Efforts to increase transparency in the arms trade at
the regional level have also progressed in the Americas and
across the countries that participate in the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The concept of
a subregional arms register which could circulate agreed
information among a smaller group of countries has been
mooted in West Africa, although with few tangible results. A
new effort in the direction of transparency has begun under
the auspices of the United Nations
Regional Center in Africa — the Small Disarmament has
Arms Transparency and Control Regime moved from a dry
in Africa (SATCRA). It would encourage technical field
those African States concerned by and into a classic
eager to stem the flow of small arms and cross-cutting issue
light weapons to promote transparency by — a collective
providing data and information on their good with real
benefits.
manufacture, flows, and stockpiling.

Confidence-building measures at work

In the words of the former Under-Secretary-General
for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, disarmament
has moved from a "dry technical field into a classic cross-cut-
ting issue — a collective good with real benefits."9 Recent
disarmament efforts — especially those often captured by the
concept of "practical disarmament" frequently rely on CBMs
for their implementation and sustainable effect. These efforts
may be framed under the rubric of development, crime pre-
vention or post-conflict peace building. Any such approach
has a direct effect on development. A few examples illustrate
this point.

17
 Sarah Meek

Weapons for development

Some of the earliest weapons for development pro-
grammes were conducted in Central America in the early
1990s. Subsequently, programmes that link the collection of
weapons from communities to development projects have
grown, often conducted within the framework of the UN
Development Programme. Some of these programmes
include:
ΠThe 1992 programme by the Nicaraguan govern-
ment that ran a country-wide weapons collection programme.
Financing for micro-development projects was provided
through seed money.
Œ The “Tools for Arms” programme run by the
Christian Council of Mozambique begun in 1992, which still
continues. Weapons brought in are exchanged for tools and
machinery ranging from axes to sewing machines to ploughs
and tractors.
ΠThe weapons for development programme in
Gramsh, Albania, took the concept of weapons for develop-
ment more broadly by identifying projects that would have
lasting benefits for communities (rather than individuals). The
Gramsh model led to similar approaches in other countries,
such as Cambodia and Niger.
Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR)
The successful implementation of the disarmament
phase of DDR programmes is widely being viewed as an
important element of building lasting stability in a country
emerging from conflict. Given the propensity of countries to
lapse into conflict, finding sustainable ways of removing
weapons becomes important. In order to achieve effective dis-
armament as part of DDR programmes, confidence-building
measures are often used.

18
 Sarah Meek

The case of Sierra Leone

Current DDR planning in the Democratic Republic of
Congo and Burundi recognize the need to build the confi-
dence of fighting parties in the disarmament process. In addi-
tion, the need to recover weapons which may stay outside the
formal disarmament process is more widely recognized.
Thus, in Sierra Leone, a Community Arms Collection and
Destruction Programme was initiated by the Sierra Leone
police with the assistance of UNAMSIL, the United Nations
peace operation in Sierra Leone, that specifically collected
weapons from civilians who were not part of the DDR pro-
gramme and focused on
weapons such as hunting The successful implementation
rifles that were excluded of the disarmament phase of
from the DDR exercise. DDR programmes is widely
This national programme being viewed as an important
collected approximately element of building lasting sta-
9,600 weapons and 17,000 bility in a country emerging
from conflict.
rounds of ammunitions.10
Subregional cooperation
In Southern Africa, more efforts to support develop-
ment in the subregion are being made to reduce the availabil-
ity of small arms and light weapons. Two examples illustrate
this point.
Operation Rachel: In 1995, the governments of
South Africa and Mozambique agreed to cooperate in locating
and destroying arms caches in Mozambique. These caches
were identified as providing weapons for criminal use in both
countries, thus increasing insecurity and affecting develop-
ment efforts. Operation Rachel, which is still underway, has
collected and destroyed more than 28,000 weapons and four
million rounds of ammunition.
Operation Qeto: Within the framework of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), in 2001,

19
 Sarah Meek

the governments of South Africa and

Lesotho collaborated to destroy surplus Careful planning
weapon stocks in Lesotho in the context and assessment of
influencing
of an initiative to implement a strategic
factors need to be
partnership to assist that country shed its
carried out before
least developed country status within five initiating any type
years. A total of 3,844 weapons and of disarmament
assorted equipment was destroyed in this programme...
joint initiative. The clusters for coopera-
tion went far beyond disarmament to
include stability, economic, social and good governance
issues.

Conclusion
A range of confidence-building measures is available
and being actively used to promote disarmament and to
enhance prospects for development in countries emerging
from conflict. Confidence-building measures have been
proven effective and innovative ways to use them are being
applied.
Support for the Register of Conventional Arms and
the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of
military expenditures needs to be sustained and countries
should continue to participate in them, as they are the only
international transparency instruments that exist. In addition,
other fora for information sharing through such organizations
as the Organization of American States, the OSCE and
ECOWAS should be actively persued and recognized for their
role in promoting confidence between states.
Confidence-building measures can also be considered
in efforts that aim to break the cycle of insecurity and pover-
ty that affects so many countries. For example, weapons col-
lection and destruction programmes when conducted with
transparency and openness can assist in reducing insecurity

20
 Sarah Meek

(both real and perceived) and make development efforts more

effective. However, it is important to realize that disarmament
can also create instability. Thus, careful planning and assess-
ment of influencing factors need to be carried out before ini-
tiating any type of disarmament programme.

Notes
1 See A/CONF.130/39 of 22 September 1987, "Report of
the International Conference on the Relationship between disarma-
ment and development,” 24 August - 11 September 1987. (New
York:United Nations): para. 13.
2 Ibid.
3 Human Development Report 2003, “Millennium
Development Goals: A compact among nations to end human
poverty,” (New York:United Nations Development Programme).
4 A/RES/46/36/L of 1991. General and complete disar-
mament, “Transparency in armaments.” (New York:United
Nations).
5 A/RES/55/2 of 18 September 2000, “United Nations
Millennium Declaration,”: 2, (New York:United Nations).
6 A/55/985-S/2001/574 of 7 June 2001, “Prevention of
Armed Conflict.” Report of the Secretary-General, (New
York:United Nations).
7 Code of conduct for the Implementation of the
Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of
Light Weapons, 10 December 1999, article 6.
8 A/58/274 of 13 August 2003, “Continuing operation of
the UN Register of Conventional Arms and its further develop-
ment.” Note by the Secretary-General, (New York:United Nations).
9 Disarmament in Conflict Prevention, DDA Occasional
Paper No. 7, May, 2003, p.2. Also at http://disarmament2.un.org/
ddapublications/op7.htm [October 26, 2004].

21
 Sarah Meek

10 Malan, M. et al. 2003. “Sierra Leone: Building the

road to recovery,” Institute for Security Studies, Monograph 80. At
http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No80/Content.html
[October 26, 2004].

***

22
DISARMAMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT —
AN OVERVIEW

Richard Jolly*

Jolly believes that it is time to re-emphasize the interaction

between disarmament and development and the contribu-
tions that a different balance of military and development
spending could make on actions to diminish or control
threats and human insecurities. He suggests that discus-
sions by the Group of Governmental Experts on the rela-
tionship between disarmament and development take into
consideration (a) the renewed interest in the importance of
this issue; (b) former UN contributions in that field; (c)
new perspectives of human security ; and (d) a leading role
for the UN in this new effort by encouraging countries to
consider the issues, undertake studies and formulate
national and regional plans to help bring measures for
human security into being.

This brief introductory note makes four key points

which I think should find a prominent place in the discussions
of the Group of Governmental Experts on the Relationship
between Disarmament and Development1 and of this seminar:

* Sir Richard Jolly is a development economist. He served

as the Principal Coordinator of UNDP's Human Development
Report from 1996 to 2000, as Deputy Executive Director of
UNICEF and as Director of the Institute for Development Studies at
Sussex University in the United Kingdom. This paper is based on
his presentation to the Group of Governmental Experts on
Disarmament and Development at the United Nations on 9 March
2004.

23
An Overview

1) With military spending rapidly rising again,

issues of disarmament and development are of renewed
importance and need to be recognized as such.
2) The United Nations has made major contri-
butions to disarmament and development in the past - which
need to be rediscovered, particularly the vision of the
Thorsson report in the 1980s and Lawrence Klein's work in
the 1990s on how the peace dividend became the engine of the
longest-lasting expansion in the economic history of the
United States and the locomotive of the world economy.
3) New perspectives of human security are pro-
viding a fundamental reorientation in thinking about security
and these need to be brought into the discussion of disarma-
ment and development. Human security needs to drive the
agenda for disarmament and development in the 21st century.
4) The United Nations needs to take the lead in
this new effort to provide a perspective with international
legitimacy and to ensure approaches sensitive to different
regional concerns.

Renewed importance of disarmament and development

At the end of the cold war, global military spending rapidly
declined for nearly a decade, from 1988 to 1996-99. But after
what now must be seen as a brief interlude, total military
spending is rising once again at a fast pace. Issues of disar-
mament and development therefore need to be put high on the
international agenda for several reasons, not only for
increased military spending.
World military spending has been increasing for six
years with prospects for further increases. It started to climb
in 1998, then accelerated sharply in 2002, increasing by six
per cent in real terms to almost $US 800 billion. The war in
Iraq in 2003 added greatly to this trend. At a meeting of the

24
 Richard Jolly

UN Disarmament Commission in
Recent increases 2003, Jayantha Dhanapala, the former
have been dominated Under-Secretary-General for
by the rises in Disarmament Affairs, estimated that
United States mili- global military spending would
tary spending, which exceed $US 1 trillion in 2003.
SIPRI estimated This can be compared to total
accounted for almost military spending at the peak of the
three quarters of the
cold war, which according to SIPRI,
global increase until
reached an estimated $US 910 billion
2002.
about 1988, in US 2000 prices. After
this, military spending fell by about a
quarter until 1996-1998.
Recent increases have been dominated by the rises in
United States military spending, which by SIPRI estimates
accounted for almost three quarters of the global increase until
2002. The country’s military budgets for fiscal year 2003 and
2004 apparently do not include the cost of the Iraq war, for
which about $US 180 billion seems to have been allocated so
far.
While the war on terrorism is a major factor in the
increase in United States military spending, SIPRI reports that
this has not been the case elsewhere, except for a handful of
countries such as Israel and Colombia. Military spending in
all countries in Western Europe remained flat. In contrast, in
2003, both the United Kingdom and France announced sub-
stantial increases, some linked to the war on terrorism and
some, in Britain, to Iraq.
SIPRI reports that China increased military spending
by 18 per cent in real terms in 2002 and India by nine per cent,
both serving as the main cause of otherwise modest increases
in regional spending in East Asia, South Asia and Central and
Eastern Europe.
The top five military spenders — United States,

25
 Richard Jolly

The top five military Japan, United Kingdom, France and

spenders account for China — account for 62 per cent of
62 per cent of the the world total and the top 15 for 82
world total and the top per cent. Nonetheless, in terms of
15 for 82 per cent. national resources, many develop-
ing countries are still spending a
higher share of their national
resources than many of the top 15. The United States was
probably spending 6 per cent of its GNP on the military in
2003, including on the Iraq war. At least five Middle East
countries spent a higher proportion than this in 2001: Oman
12 per cent, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia 11 per cent, Jordan 9 per
cent and Israel 8 per cent.
Regionally, there are also big dis- Today's threats
parities. In 2001, the latest year for which are increasingly
there are comparable data, the Middle threats to human
East spent 6.3 per cent on the military, security...
Central and Eastern Europe 2.7 per cent,
Africa 2.1 per cent and Western Europe 1.9 per cent. At the
same time, it must be emphasized that military spending in
many countries still seems to be below the 1988 levels.
Unfortunately, data is only available until 2001. But this
shows that in the 90 countries for which comparable data are
available, the share of military spending as a percentage of
GDP in 2001 was lower in three quarters of them - 68 coun-
tries - than in 1988. Of these 68 countries, 16 out of 24 were
low income, 27 of 37 middle income and 25 out of 29 high
income countries.
Apart from levels of military spending, there are other
reasons to return to the issues of disarmament and develop-
ment, which include:
1) The nature of insecurity has changed. No longer is
most insecurity the traditional insecurity of threats across
national borders created by an identifiable enemy state.

26
 Richard Jolly

Today's threats are increasingly threats to human security,

which themselves arise from a variety of causes but have a
common impact — making the lives of large numbers of peo-
ple in many countries less secure and more vulnerable than for
many years.
2) The repercussions of terrorist attacks and of war
and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan have been felt in every
corner of the world. In one way or another, these events have
left the whole world feeling more insecure.
3) At the same time, the rise in military spending and
war in Iraq have concentrated attention on military action and
diverted attention from non-military actions to tackle insecu-
rity.
It is time to re-emphasize the interaction between dis-
armament and development and the contributions that a dif-
ferent balance of spending on military and development could
make to actions to diminish or control threats and human inse-
curities.
Disarmament and development – United Nations contri-
butions
Over the years, the United Nations has made many
important contributions to analysis and debate on disarma-
ment and development, in sharp contrast to other internation-
al agencies and institutions which largely ignored the topic.2
Our work on the United Nations history project based in City
University has shown that from the very beginning, the UN
has emphasized the benefits to development of disarmament-
measures.3
Article 26 of the Charter states:
“In order to promote the establishment and maintenance
of international peace and security with the least diver-
sion for armaments of the world’s human and economic
resources, the Security Council shall be responsible for

27
 Richard Jolly

formulating … plans to be submitted to the Members of

the United Nations for the establishment of a system for
the regulation of armaments.”
Proposals for actions linking disarmament with
development were made in the 1950s and in every subsequent
decade.
France, in 1955, made the first At the same
proposal within the United Nations for a time, it must be
link between disarmament and develop- emphasized that
ment, whereby participating states would military spend-
agree to reduce their military spending ing in many
annually year by a certain agreed percent- countries still
age that would increase each year. seems to be
Reductions would be monitored, follow- below the 1988
levels.
ing a common definition of military
spending and standardized nomenclature
for military budget items. The resources released would be
paid into an international fund, 25 per cent of which would be
allocated to development, the rest left at the disposal of the
government concerned.
In the following year, the Soviet Union proposed a
variant, further elaborated two years later. The Special United
Nations Fund for Economic Development (SUNFED),
already under consideration for several years as a key compo-
nent for international development strategy, should be
financed through reductions in military budgets. The military
budgets of the Soviet Union, United States, United Kingdom
and France were to be cut by 10 to 15 per cent, with part of
the savings used for development assistance.
In 1964, the first developing country entered with a
proposal. Brazil called for a fund to finance industrial con-
version and economic development. This fund would be allo-
cated to not less than 20 per cent of the global value of reduc-
tions in military budgets.

28
 Richard Jolly

Four years later, under the auspices of the United

Nations, a panel of 13 eminent personalities including two
Nobel Prize winners, issued a joint declaration in 1968, deal-
ing with Disarmament, Development and Security, as a "Triad
of Peace."
In 1973, the
General Assembly adopted
a resolution calling for a 10 The United Nations has made
per cent one-time reduc- many important contributions to
analysis and debate on disarma-
tion in the military budgets
ment and development, includ-
of the five permanent ing proposals for actions linking
members of the Security the two concepts...
Council. Under this reso-
lution, 10 per cent of the
sum thus saved would be allocated for social and economic
development in developing countries. The resolution called
on other States to join in.
In 1978, as part of the first Special Session on
Disarmament, several proposals were made for a link between
disarmament and development. Senegal called for a 5 per
cent tax on armaments, with the resources generated paid to
the United Nations for use in development. France proposed
the establishment of an international disarmament fund for
development. Romania proposed that military budgets be
first frozen and then gradually reduced. In the first stage, mil-
itary budgets were to be cut by at least 10 per cent with half
the released amounts transferred to the United Nations for
development support of countries with per capita income of
less than $200 per year.
In 1978 and 1982, the General Assembly held two
special sessions devoted to Disarmament and Development
and, in 1987, an International Conference on the same theme
was convened.4
Over the same period, the United Nations also issued

29
 Richard Jolly

a number of reports on disarmament and development.

Probably the most important and comprehensive was the pio-
neering Thorsson Report in 1982 on the relationship between
Disarmament and Development.5
The Thorsson study was The Thorsson study
dismissive of the cautious tone of was dismissive of the
many of the previous United cautious tone of
Nations studies on disarmament and many of the previous
development. Such caution had United Nations stud-
been excessive, indicating fear and ies on disarmament
hesitancy about declaring too close and development.
a relationship between disarmament
and development. In contrast, after a detailed review of much
evidence and many studies, the Thorsson Report concluded
that its "investigation suggests very strongly that the world
can either continue to pursue the arms race with characteristic
vigour or move consciously and with deliberate speed toward
a more stable and balanced social and economic development.
It cannot do both."6
The Thorsson Report summarized evidence for sug-
gesting a strongly negative relationship between arms spend-
ing and development:
ΠIn the poorer countries, increases in military
spending as a share of GDP are associated with reductions in
the rate of economic growth.
ΠFor arms-importing developing countries, the
price paid for the equipment represents only an initial cost.
Later, there are many other economic and political costs
involved in subsequent operations and maintenance.
ΠFew developing countries have succeeded in
establishing a truly indigenous military sector. For the major-
ity of developing countries, ambitious programmes of arms-
production are likely to over-burden their industrial and man-

30
 Richard Jolly

power base and the almost inevitable dependence on import-

ed technology largely negates the self-reliance usually pre-
sented as the critical reason for the domestic manufacture of
arms.7
The Thorsson report drew on the work of Vassily
Leontief, the Nobel Prize winning economist, who prepared
one of the background papers which was used to outline alter-
native scenarios of the global economy until the year 2000: a
baseline scenario which assumed continuation of the share of
military outlays in GNPs; an accelerated arms race which
envisaged a doubling of the share of military outlays in GNP
by the year 2000; and a "disarmament scenario" under which
military spending of the United States and Soviet Union
would fall by one third by 1990 and by a further third over the
1990s. For all the other regions, military expenditures would
decline by a quarter by 1990 and by a further fifth over the
1990s. The study concluded that even modest disarmament
released resources could make a significant contribution to
global economic prospects.8
This study was presented in 1982,
The reductions a year before President Reagan would
in military speak of "the aggressive impulses of an
expenditures evil empire"9 and seven years before the
from 1987 to fall of the Berlin Wall. Though consid-
1996-1998 were ered wildly optimistic and visionary at the
to have different time, the United Nations disarmament
consequences scenario with its associated projections,
from those emerged as nearer the actual situation in
envisaged... 2000 than the other two projections.
In any event, however, the reduc-
tions in military expenditures from 1987 to 1996-1998 were
to have different consequences from those envisaged, either in
the Thorsson study or in most of the other prospective analy-
ses of the peace dividend. The focus of most of the United

31
 Richard Jolly

Nations studies and of most proposals for a peace dividend

had been on the assumption that reductions in military spend-
ing would lead to reallocations of this spending into non-mil-
itary, "peaceful uses."
What occurred in the These reductions,
United States and in many other according to Klein's
countries over the 1990s was a interpretation, were
reduction of military spending com- major forces behind
bined with parallel reductions in the United States
government spending. This led expansion of the
many to believe that there was no 1990s, helping to
make it the longest-
peace dividend. The analysis by
lasting expansion in
Professor Lawrence Klein, another its history.
Nobel Laureate economist who has
often contributed to the United
Nations' work in this area, suggests otherwise. Far from
accepting the popular view that there has been no peace divi-
dend, Klein has argued that the reductions in United States
military spending resulted in major reductions in that coun-
try’s government deficit and in interest rates over the 1990s.
These reductions, according to Klein's interpretation, were
major forces behind the United States expansion of the 1990s,
helping to make it the longest-lasting expansion in its histo-
ry.10 This expansion in turn has had a positive impact on the
global economy - making the United States "the locomotive of
the world economy," with actual and potential benefits to the
poorest and lowest income countries. This overall argument
in favor of the positive effects of reductions in military expan-
sion is not negated by the fact that the benefits to the poorest
and lowest income countries were often offset by the stop-go
policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions and by the disrup-
tive effects of local conflicts encouraged by the arms trade.

32
 Richard Jolly

Priorities for today

As the context has changed, so also must the priori-
ties. Today, disarmament and development needs a new
approach, related to the new and changing threats to security,
to the new range of causes and to the global context in which
there is one super-power. There is also a need to build on
recent intellectual developments within and outside the
United Nations. These relate to new concepts of human secu-
rity, set out in UNDP's Human Development Report of 1994,
in various documents espousing policies of human security
prepared by the governments of Canada,11Japan and Norway,
and last year’s report of the Commission on Human Security
entitled "Human Security Now — protecting and empowering
people".
A new approach would involve some new elements
and new priorities:
Human Security should set the frame
Human security would put the main focus on the
security of people's lives, human well-being and welfare. It
would shift attention to the security of individuals and com-
munities and away from the security of
territory or nations. It would also empha- Disarmament
size the security of people everywhere - and development
in their homes, their jobs, their streets, today needs a
their communities and in the environ- new approach,
ment. Above all, it would give priority to related to the
action to improve security through eco- new and chang-
nomic, social and institutional develop- ing threats to
ment, much less than through arms and security.
military action.
Broadening the concept of security in this way raises
basic questions about the level of military spending in relation
to the diversity of threats faced by a country's entire popula-
tion. Perhaps more important, it stimulates questions about

33
 Richard Jolly

under-spending on actions outside One of the real

the military which might be more challenges is to
effective than the military in tackling define a core of
the other causes of human insecurity. threats to human
These would include spending on the security in order to
police force, judges and courts, com- make the concept
munity action, health services, and a operational.
broad range of social and economic
measures to tackle unemployment
and environmental deterioration.
This broader view of security would also focus on a
broader range of threats. The threat of terrorism needs little
emphasis, except to underline the important point that percep-
tions of what are the most important terrorist threats vary
enormously by where in the world one lives and by the polit-
ical or social group one belongs to. Location also greatly
influences the relative importance of different types of threats
to human security.
For most people in developing countries, the largest
threats to human security come from urban crime, drug and
organized crime wars, small arms and landmines and violence
stirred by racial, cultural or religious intolerance. Gender vio-
lence affects many women in both developing and developed
countries. There are threats to human security from
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria, and environmental
threats from floods and drought, earthquakes or typhoons as
well as man-made causes of environmental deterioration. The
list can be long and wide. One of the real challenges is to
define a core of threats to human security in order to make the
concept operational.
The most important reason for setting human securi-
ty as the frame is to present a full range of choices in decid-
ing how to allocate resources. Diagram 1 presents the rela-
tionship between national security and expenditure on the

34
 Richard Jolly

military, as originally set out in a lecture by Robert

McNamara, former United States Secretary of Defense.
McNamara's point was that at the time of writing, in 1977, the
United States had already reached the horizontal part of the
curve, where additional expenditure on the military brought
little, if any, increase in security. He argued the case for more
spending on development, as a much more cost effective way
for the country to achieve greater security. The diagram also
presents the issues for most other countries. How much
should be spent on military means to security compared to
non-military measures?

Security and arms expenditure

Diagram 1
S
E
C
U
R
I
T
Y $ billion arms expenditure

A frame of human security would make such choices

explicit. Each country needs to explore the balance of expen-
ditures to prevent or control the leading threats to its security,
short-run or long-run, across the core of various causes of
human insecurity. Such analysis is not easy, but neither are
decisions on military budgets. And at least in focusing on the
core causes of human insecurity, a broader range of concerns
and measures is brought into the analysis. For most countries,
this will reveal a gross imbalance in spending for security,
over-spending on military actions, under-spending on other
measures for prevention and control of threats to human secu-
rity. Mediation and negotiation are vital steps to prevention
and control of dissident and marginalized groups, steps to

35
 Richard Jolly

understanding as well as steps to building bridges of reconcil-

iation and inclusion. The lessons of how to reach out to
nationalist leaders following the end of colonialism may still
have relevance for how to end divisions in the world today.

Country level actions

The key point for country level
action is to begin with a national The lessons of
assessment of the threats to human how to reach out
security. The 1994 Human to nationalist
leaders following
Development Report — and the later
the end of colo-
report of 1999 — set out many of the nialism may still
possible threats and many of the have relevance
actions required in response. The fact for how to end
that military spending in many coun- divisions in the
tries is well below the levels of a world today.
decade ago is an important advantage
and a reminder that new measures to
tackle insecurity may well involve non-military actions and
expenditures.
The Commission on Human Security12 defined
human security as "protecting the vital core of all human lives
in ways that enhance human freedoms and human fulfill-
ment", thereby drawing closely on Amartya Sen’s concept of
human development and promoted in the Human
Development Report. The Commission identified several key
areas of action:13
ΠProtecting people in violent conflict
ΠActions to control small arms and to protect
people from proliferation of such arms
ΠSupporting the security of people on the move,
fleeing from violence and other threats

36
 Richard Jolly

ΠThe protection of people in post conflict situa-

tions
ΠActions to overcome economic insecurity, espe-
cially to benefit and empower those in extreme poverty and to
improve minimum living standards, and
ΠUniversal basic education and access to basic
health care.
As the Commission recognized, there is great com-
plementarity between these actions and those of the
Millennium Development Goals, as should be expected.
Measures of disarmament and development can contribute to
both. And international action has an important part to play in
support of national efforts and should be brought into the
Poverty Reduction Support Papers (PRSPs) in a way which
has scarcely been done to date.
Support for re-establishing the infrastructure of the
police, law and the administration for development is a criti-
cal priority in post-conflict situations, as the recent report on
Economic Priorities for Peace Implementation has made
clear.14 Rebuilding institutions and ensuring pay and employ-
ment for staff in the public sector are key priorities for re-
establishing human security in the difficult situation of failed
states. To support this is both a priority for human security
within countries and an example of the international benefits
which can follow when such actions succeed.

United Nations and international action

Human security raises new issues and new interac-
tions between countries. For this reason, the United Nations
itself needs to play a leading role in encouraging countries to
consider the issues, undertake studies and to formulate nation-
al and regional plans to help bring measures for human secu-

37
 Richard Jolly

rity into being.

There are several reasons why the United Nations
needs to take the lead. First, the United Nations has legitima-
cy and the capacity to present issues from the viewpoint of
developing countries, not only the developed ones. Second,
though individual countries can and should pursue actions
towards human security, the big gains will take place when
countries pursue them together, globally, regionally or even
subregionally.
In economic language, there are externalities to be
either gained or lost. For instance, measures can be put in
place to improve human security through arms control,
strengthening police and security services, tackling drug
smuggling, urban crime, gender violence, as well as broader
measures to control and prevent diseases and environmental
deterioration and actions to counter cultural and religious
prejudice. The United Nations, especially UNESCO, has
from the beginning encouraged education to ensure that all
children are raised with a sense of tolerance and understand-
ing of people from other cultures, nationalities and ethnic
groups. The importance of this today should not be underes-
timated.
There is also technical work to be done. Statistics are
needed which show not only spending on the military in rela-
tion to health and education but mil-
itary spending in relation to a wider
Though individual range of expenditures on other
countries can and forms of control and prevention in
should pursue actions
the area of human security: spending
towards human security,
the big gains will take
on the police, on law enforcement,
place when countries on security, on crime and drug con-
pursue them together, trol. The United Nations could
globally, regionally or make a major contribution if it com-
even subregionally. missioned a small expert group to

38
 Richard Jolly

prepare the methodology and The United Nations should

data on such matters, focusing lead with boldness,
on long run trends as well as on notwithstanding a degree
the facts and figures for recent of skepticism which may
years and on developing tech- be forthcoming from some
niques to focus on and measure governments and some
action to deal with a core of commentators.
human insecurities.
The United Nations should lead with boldness,
notwithstanding a degree of skepticism which may be forth-
coming from some governments and some commentators.
The United Nations needs to recall that when it organized the
special sessions on disarmament and development in 1978
and 1982, military spending was still rising and there was
widespread skepticism about any prospects for reduction. Yet
within a decade, military spending had peaked and over the 8
to 10 years which followed, major reductions in military
spending took place in both developed and developing coun-
tries. This is the vision of hope for the future which needs to
empower those who now call for human security.

Notes
1 Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 57/65 of 22
November 2002, the Secretary-General established the Group of
Governmental Experts to undertake a reappraisal of the relationship
between disarmament and development in the current international
context as well as the future role of the Organization in this connec-
tion, and to present a report with recommendations to the General
Assembly at its 59th session.
2 As their historians noted, the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund treated arms reduction as "sensitive
and political and only felt able to deal explicitly with the topic after
the end of the cold war." See Kapur, D. et al. 1997. “The World
Bank: Its First Half Century”, (Washington: Brookings Institution):

39
 Richard Jolly

533.
3 This section draws on Richard Jolly et al. “United
Nations contributions to development thinking and practice,”
(Bloomington:Indiana University Press): forthcoming 2004.
4 See A/CONF.130/39 of 22 September 1987, "Report of
the International Conference on the Relationship between disarma-
ment and development,” 24 August - 11 September 1987. (New
York:United Nations).
5 Thorsson Report, contained in document A/36/356 of 5
October 1981. “Study on the relationship between disarmament and
development.” Report of the Secretary-General, (New York:United
Nations).
6 The Thorsson Report, as quoted in Mac Graham et al.,
“Disarmament and World Development,” (Oxford:Pergamon Press,
1986):235.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9Speech by United States President Ronald Reagan, 8
March 1983, quoted in Robert Andrews, Cassell Dictionary of
Contemporary Quotations (London:Cassell, 1998), 26.
10 Klein has put these arguments in several places. A
good summary can be found in the Oral History interview of
Lawrence R. Klein, (4 January 2002) in the Oral History Collection
of the United Nations Intellectual History Project, The Graduate
Center, The City University of New York. Klein has used the LINK
model, which he originated, to make estimates of the orders of mag-
nitude of the beneficial peace dividend impacts in developing coun-
tries. Joseph E. Stiglitz, “The Roaring Nineties: a new history of the
world's most prosperous decade,” (New York, Norton, 2003), 35 et
seq. makes the same point about the positive effects of reduced
United States military spending on US interest rates and subse-
quently on its deficit and the costs of servicing its debt.
11 A summary of the Canadian position will be found in

40
 Richard Jolly

Lloyd Axworthy. "Human Security and Global Governance: Putting

People First," Global Governance 7,1 (January-March 2000): 19-23.
A strong critique of this work was made by Yuen Foong Khong in
"Human Security: A shotgun approach to Alleviating Human
Misery", Global Governance 7, no 3 (July-Sept. 2001), 231-236.
12 The Commission on Human Security was established
in January 2001 through the initiative of the Government of Japan
and in response to the UN Secretary-General’s call at the 2000
Millennium Summit for a world “free of want” and “free of fear.”
The Commission consisted of twelve prominent international fig-
ures, including Mrs. Sadako Ogata (former UN High Commissioner
for Refugees) and Professor Amartya Sen (1998 Nobel Economics
Prize Laureate). The Commission on Human Security concluded its
activities on 31 May 2003. Since then, the Advisory Board on
Human Security has succeeded its operations to promote, dissemi-
nate and followup on the Commission’s recommendations. For
more information see www.humansecurity-chs.org [27 October
2004].
13 Commission on Human Security. 2003. “Human
Security Now: Protecting and Empowering People,” accessible at
www.humansecurity-chs.org [28 October 2004].
14 Susan L. Woodward. 2002. “Economic Priorities for
Peace Implementation,” International Peace Academy Policy Paper
on Peace Implementation, (New York:IPA), accessible at
http://www.ipacademy.org/Publications/Publications.htm[28
October 2004].

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41
Abbreviations and Acronyms
CBMs confidence-building measures
CDF Civil Defense Force
DDR disarmament, demobilization and reintegra-
tion
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African
States
GDP Gross domestic product
GNP Gross national product
HDI Human Development Rankings
NGO non-governmental organization
OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe
RUF Revolutionary United Front
SADC Southern African Development Community
SATCRA Small Arms Transparency and Control
Regime in Africa
SIPRI Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute
SSOD I Special Session of the General Assembly on
Disarmament
SUNFED Special United Nations Fund for Economic
Development

***

42
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